Game-by-game, final record predictions from the Vikings On SI team

The 2024 NFL season is upon us and predictions have been posted everywhere. Most don't expect the Minnesota Vikings to win many games, but there are a few teams every season that exceed expectations and come out on top. While there are many reasons to doubt that the Vikings will be one of those teams this season, we can point out reasonable reasons why they will be good.

First of all, can a full season with Sam Darnold at quarterback be worse than the nine games without Kirk Cousins ​​last season? Unless Josh Dobbs, Nick Mullens and Jaren Hall are better than Darnold, the quarterback's overall performance through 17 games should be good enough to remain competitive.

Second, the Vikings didn't have any semblance of a running game last season. Aaron Jones is a huge improvement over Alexander Mattison, and Ty Chandler looked explosive at times in his first chance at a significant role in 2023.

Third, it's the second year with Brian Flores as defensive coordinator. Sure, the Vikings lost edge rusher Danielle Hunter and middle linebacker Jordan Hicks, but they added three solid pass rushers in Jonathan Greenard, Andrew Van Ginkel and rookie Dallas Turner, while replacing Hicks with Blake Cashman and improving the cornerback position with Stephon Gilmore and Shaq Griffin.

How will it all turn out? We asked our Vikings On SI staff to make game-by-game predictions and call the outcome of just one of five picks who picked the Vikings to make the playoffs. Joe Nelson surprised a bit with the Vikings' final record of 12-5, including an incredible 3-0 start with wins over the Giants, 49ers and Texans.

Will Ragatz projects Minnesota to finish 9-8 after hinting at a playoff push with a 9-6 start. Back-to-back losses to the Packers and Lions to end the regular season would be a typical offseason slump for the Vikings. Jonathan Harrison expects a 2-5 start before a furious finish keeps the Vikings in contention until the end and just misses them. Nolan O'Hara projects a 1-4 start and a 9-8 finish, while Tony Liebert has the worst prospects at 7-10.

We'll be sure to bookmark these predictions to cheer for at the end of the regular season. In the meantime, be sure to check out our weekly game predictions with more in-depth explanations, starting with Week 1 against the New York Giants.